Ambrosia, food of the gods

If you grew up in New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, there's a good chance this pudding will be instantly recognisable. If not, it's high time you got acquainted.

This is ambrosia, food of the gods. I remember it sweeping through parties and social occasions of my childhood like a tidal wave of cream, fruit and pineapple lumps. My mother never made it, which gave it extra cachet. To my 10-year-old self, ambrosia was just about the most glamorous pudding ever invented. 

Thirty years later, I can vouch for many of its attributes. The mixture of cream and yoghurt is still tangy and rich, and it's great fun anticipating the surprise in each mouthful - will it be a marshmallow or a juicy berry? I doubt it's the food of the modern gods, given its extremely calorific ingredients, but it still makes a great pudding (or a very illicit breakfast).

Ambrosia

The great thing about ambrosia is that it doesn't require any fancy ingredients, can be made for an intimate dinner for two or a feeding frenzy for 20 and it appeals to just about everyone. Children adore it and adults, though they pretend they are too grown up to eat marshmallows, will dig into the bowl as soon as your back is turned. It's sort of an Antipodean Eton Mess, which makes it the perfect entry for this month's Sweet New Zealand blogging challenge. This month my lovely friends Michelle and Anna of Munch Cooking are playing host and they've given it a Wellington theme to celebrate Wellington On a Plate. It's also a fitting entry for the August edition of We Should Cocoa, in which guest host Rebecca of BakeNQuilt has chosen marshmallows as the special guest ingredient.

180ml (3/4 cup) cream

2 cups natural yoghurt (I particularly like The Collective's Straight Up yoghurt in this)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups frozen berries - blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries

2 cups mini marshmallows

100g chocolate, roughly chopped

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Stir through the yoghurt and vanilla, then fold through the berries, marshmallows and chocolate (reserve a little of the chocolate to sprinkle on top). Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. I think it's best the day it's made, unless you're eating it sneakily for breakfast the morning after. Serves 4-6.

Have a great week, everyone x

Random recipe: Orange and lamb tagine

Once upon a time I used to scour charity shops and school fairs for cookbook gems, hoping to find a first edition Mrs Beeton tucked among the multiple copies of Alison Holst's Microwave Menus. While that never happened, I did come across plenty of great finds - The Silver Palate cookbooks, pristine paperback Elizabeth Davids, a Jill Dupleix that I'd always wanted and once - a brand new copy of How To Eat for 50p - among others.

But a year or so ago I realised I was in danger of being swamped by these dusty finds; that I didn't really need to pick up every half-decent cookbook I found and that it would be perfectly safe for someone else to buy. Then I met a woman who told me that one of the largest charity shops in Wellington gets so many books donated to it that twice a year they load up a container and take it to the tip. No, not the recycling depot, the tip. The charity can't afford to send them overseas, so they dump them. Now - there are all sorts of issues here, not least being - why don't they give them away - but it made me reconsider what I do with my own collection. I've recently decided that there are lots of books that, while I don't use them anymore, deserve better homes than being stuck in a damp charity shop while waiting to be bulldozed into landfill. I've selected both the books and their recipients carefully and it was such fun watching their reactions that I'm planning to do it again in a few months' time.

The thing is though, that all this largesse has meant that I had very few books to choose from for this month's Random Recipe challenge. The instructions from Dom at Belleau Kitchen were to select a book from the throw-out pile you're supposed to compile when spring/autumn cleaning - and in truth, I had only one. But the results were so convincing that I'm going to have to keep it!

A few years ago you couldn't move for being offered something made out of Jo Seagar's 'You Shouldn't Have Gone To So Much Trouble, Darling'. This book, which features the author up to her pearl-strewn neck in a bubble bath, was first published in 1997, then a reprinted and updated version came out 10 years later. I have the original version, which I picked up from a charity shop for $2. I bought it out of nostalgia, more than anything. It was badly waterstained and I didn't expect to ever use it, but the thing that swung it for me was the inscription on the front to the previous owner, 'Anna' - ' with much love from Momma and Poppa'. Gulp.

Lamb and Orange Tagine
Anna obviously used it her copy of 'You Shouldn't Have...' a lot - the book fell open at the recipe for lamb tagine, which has 'Excellent!' scrawled across the top in blue biro. It turns out Anna was right - though I played around a bit with Jo's original recipe to make it even more 'excellent' - or at least, a little lighter and not as sweet. I've annotated the book accordingly, all ready for its next owner.

500g lamb shoulder, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2cm ginger, grated
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 medium carrots, washed, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup vegetable stock
3 large mandarins or 2 oranges, washed and roughly chopped, (including the skin)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup prunes, cut in half
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
Handful of coriander leaves, roughy chopped

Heat the oven to 160C.
Put the olive oil in a large, cast iron casserole and set over medium heat. Tip in the lamb, onion, garlic and ginger and cook for five minutes, stirring frequently, then add the carrots and spices. Cook for another minute, then add the mandarins or oranges and the vegetable stock. Stir well, then cover tightly and bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the lamb is very tender. Check it a couple of times to make sure it isn't drying out - add a little water if it seems dry.
Add the prunes and stir well. At this point you can let the tagine cool completely, then refrigerate and reheat the next day. If you're planning to eat it now, return it to the oven after adding the prunes and let cook for another 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and coriander just before serving with rice, couscous or flatbreads. Serves four.

Are you a charity shop cookbook buyer?

Treat me: Anzac Bread

Have you ever heard the expression, 'an army marches on its stomach'? Whoever was in charge of provisioning the Antipodean soldiers in World War One certainly hadn't. Researchers now believe poor diet was one of the contributing factors to the doomed Gallipoli campaign due to be commemorated in Australia and New Zealand tomorrow.

Not only were the hapless Anzacs on a hiding to nothing in terms of their strategic position and lack of equipment, they were given the most basic of rations and suffered greatly as a result. Like the song says, war - what is it good for?

I'm not sure that modern Anzac biscuits are that nutritionally sound either, but they surely rate highly in terms of improving - even in the short-term - one's psychological state, especially when consumed with a good cup of tea. Ending (or even starting) the day with a bowl of Anzac Biscuit Ice cream offers a similar emotional health benefits. But if you're looking for something a little more wholesome, then this easy Anzac-inspired bread could be just the ticket.

Anzac Bread
This is bread for beginners - there's no kneading and very little hands-on effort required at all. Mix the dough before you go to the dawn service and it will just about be ready to stick in the oven when you get back.

350g strong or high grade flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
50g rolled oats
50g desiccated coconut
1 tsp dried yeast
20g butter, cold
1 Tbsp golden syrup
325ml warm water

Put the flour, oats, coconut and yeast into a large bowl. Grate in the butter and then stir vigorously to mix it in.
Add the golden syrup to the water and pour into the bowl. Mix well until a wet, sticky dough forms.
Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic bag and leave in a warm place for three to four hours, until the dough has risen and nearly doubled in size.
Turn the oven to 210C. Grease a standard loaf tin (about 21 x11 cm) and line with baking paper.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and deflate it by pressing with your fingers until it forms a rectangular shape that's slightly narrower than the length of the loaf tin. With the short side closest to you, carefully fold the bottom third of the dough into the middle, then over again. You should have a loaf shape sitting in front of you. Carefully transfer this to the prepared loaf tin.
Let rise for 30 minutes, until it is puffy and an indent stays when you press it with a finger. Slash the top with a sharp knife, dust with a little flour and put in the oven.
Bake for 35 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Let cool for five minutes before you turn it out of the tin. Leave it on a rack to cool completely.

Have a great weekend, everyone x

Good things - January 2014

I'm not sure how it happened, but someone has stolen my January. I can't believe the first month of 2014 has disappeared so fast. This afternoon, as I rushed to the hardware store to buy window hinges (don't ask), I tried to recall what we have done and drew a complete blank.

From looking at my diary I can work out there was one bout of tonsilitis, 10 flights up and down the country and one funeral. I have met approximately a dozen tradesmen, one of whom I have seen more of in the last two weeks than my husband. In fact, one of the other tradies thought he WAS my husband. I have spent more time in hardware stores than I have in food shops. I've only read two books (this one and this one) and become hooked on this show. I have worried about paint and carpet and too many other things to mention.

It is mid-summer and I have still not eaten an ice cream.

But I have become absolutely addicted to this insanely good and easy to make miso caramel sauce, which goes with absolutely everything.

I loved listening to this podcast with Colonel Chris Hadfield about eating in space. Surely he must be a contender for Person Of The Year?



I have made quite a few things from this book, aided by vegetables I've been growing in my own garden (please note high levels of SPF - Smug Person Factor - in that statement).

And I was utterly transfixed by this video - though I can see the point in this argument against it (it's still mesmerising though, don't you think?



So maybe January wasn't all bad after all. What have you been up to?

No-knead spelt bread

A mystery visitor changed my life last Friday. I went out for a few hours and returned home to find crumbs all over the kitchen floor and a tea towel draped artistically over the stovetop. Now, neither of these things are that unusual - our floors are usually so covered in crumbs it looks like Hansel and Gretel have been passing through and tea towels are often appropriated by a pair of small hands to make doll beds or princess dresses. But the strange formation of these crumbs, and the teatowel's odd positioning, spoke of something else. All at once it dawned on me - the oven man had come! I jumped up and down on the spot beside the oven, both in utter joy and to test whether or not the door was going to fall open. It didn't budge. I pulled on the door handle and it reluctantly opened, eager to spring back into position. I was so excited I took a video of myself opening the oven door and sent it to my beloved. "This is one of the nicest things you've ever done for me," I wrote.

You may think this indicates that a) I need to get out more and b) that my relationship is in serious trouble, but if you'd spent the last 18 months grappling with an oven that didn't close properly, you'd be excited too. I've spent all weekend marvelling at how easy it is to cook things when the oven door doesn't fall open at whim and how quickly the oven heats up now that half the heat isn't escaping. One of the first things I made was a spelt version of my ye olde DIY Vogels bread. Here's how I did it.

No-knead spelt bread
I'm on a bit of a spelt kick at the moment, not least because I can buy organic spelt flour from a great shop just minutes away - but most supermarkets stock it now too. If you can boil a kettle and stir (not simultaneously), then you can make this bread. I use my own toasted muesli - like this one or this one - when making this but any decent bought one will suffice. If you leave it out, consider throwing in some seeds instead.

300g white spelt flour
300g wholemeal spelt flour
120g toasted muesli
2 tsp dried yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey
300ml milk
350ml boiling water

Put everything into a large bowl and mix well - it will be like porridge. Scrape into a very-well oiled and lined large loaf tin (internal measurements roughly 20cm x 10cm x 8cm).
Put into a cold oven and turn the dial to 50C. Leave for about 25 minutes, until the dough has risen to the top of the tin. Turn the heat to 200C and bake for another 40 minutes, until crusty on top and hollow when you tap it on the bottom.
Turn out to a rack to cool. This makes excellent toast, or you can cut it into canape-sized bits and have it with cream cheese and pickled ginger or smoked salmon.

What was the best thing that happened to your kitchen last week?

Treat me: Anzac Biscuit Icecream

The idea for this came to me when I was running home on Wednesday night. One minute I was counting the cars roaring through the Mount Victoria tunnel, the next I was sprinting down Moxham Ave to get home and write my idea down before I forgot it. See, running does improve your life in ways you could never have imagined. I'm not sure Tracy Anderson tells Gwyneth Paltrow to think of icecream during her personal training sessions, but she probably should...

Anzac Biscuit Icecream
This is extremely easy and fun to make, but if making the Anzac crumble seems a bridge too far (or you have some Anzac Biscuits left over from yesterday), you could just crush five or six Anzac biscuits up and stir them through the icecream mixture as detailed below.

For the Anzac crumble:
50g butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp golden syrup
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup plain flour

For the icecream:
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
375ml (1 1/2 cups) cream

Make the crumble first. Heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper measuring about 30cm by 30cm.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then add the sugar and golden syrup. Stir well, then remove from the heat and add the oats, coconut and flour. Mix well, then tip onto the baking paper. Spread out in a thin, even layer and put in the oven for 7-10 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Set aside - it will harden as it cools. When it's cold, make the icecream.
Put the egg yolks and brown sugar in a bowl and beat (with electric beaters, unless you have forearms of steel) until pale and thick. Pour in the cream and beat until soft peaks form. Take about two-thirds of the Anzac mixture and crumble it over the top. Fold it in gently, then pour the whole mixture into a lidded plastic container. Freeze for at least four hours, until firm. Reserve the rest of the Anzac mixture to crumble over the top when you serve the icecream.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Make this icecream and it will be, I promise x

My Christmas message

Do you want to know what I was doing at 6am yesterday morning? I was ironing a tablecloth. Actually, I was ironing two tablecloths, after discovering the first one was sporting red wine stains. Then I ironed an apron and a shirt. Actually, I ironed two shirts, after having a 'what to wear' crisis. Then I cleaned the kitchen, swiped away a few cobwebs, took the Small Girl to nursery and made a mad dash through the supermarket.



The reason for all this housewifeliness was that I was getting ready for a video shoot at our place - a spur-of-the-moment 'let's make a Christmas food video for work' sort of thing. You can see the results here. Please pay special attention to the tablecloth.

As a disclaimer, I have to explain that the reason I look panicked in the intro is that the videographer had just got a call to a press conference across town and we had to film it in about two minutes. It was fun though. Sort of. At least now I can understand why the Queen always looks a bit frosty in her Christmas message. She's probably been up early ironing...

Sweet New Zealand - November 2012

You might think The Hobbit is the only game in town in little old New Zealand this month, but you'd be wrong. Very wrong. The sensible among us have been hiding out until it all goes away, while the very sensible have been baking up a storm (you've got to have something to do while steadfastly ignoring breathless and blanket coverage of just. one. movie, don't you?).

Here's the Sweet New Zealand roundup for November.

First out of the gate was Frances of Bake Club, who set a high standard with these dazzling Rainbow Cupcakes. Aren't they fab?

Next came Zo at Two Spoons - a very elegant blog, I must say - with this Rhubarb and Coconut Cake.

If you've ever wondered how to make clotted cream, lovely Lesley of Eat,Etc, has the answer. I won't give the game away completely but it involves a slow cooker. Genius.

And if you've ever wondered how to make an equally lush but non-dairy treat, Lissa at My Kitchen Rebellion has the answer to that: it's Vegan Dark Chocolate Velvet Pie. Lissa also has lots of good advice on adopting a plant-based diet, should you be that way inclined.

Even if you don't like the sound of Orange Mango French Toast with Honey Roasted Strawberry Compote, you need to check out the very cute strawberry crockery on Sue's post at Couscous and Consciousness. The strawberry jug is particularly adorable (and the French toast looks great too!)

Brave Monica of Delissimon made her Sweet New Zealand debut with these Rose with French Vanilla Cupcakes - welcome, Monica, do come again (and bring more cupcakes).

Should you be reaching a bit of a sugar low by now, one of these high-protein, low-sugar, gluten-free Hazelnut and Orange Cookies, made by Nicola at I Cook Family. Nicola is a chef and nutrition consultant and her blog has lots of good, useful info, especially if you're feeding little people.

Speaking of little people, marvellous Michelle, aka Mummy to three boys and one of the Munch crowd, found the time to whip up these Double Chocolate and Raisin Biscuits. I don't know how she does it, but I'm glad she did.

It's been years since I ate a Moro bar, but Anita's incredible Moro Gold Max Caramel Cupcakes (try saying that quickly) make me want to dash to the shops. I'd probably need to run to the shops in Taupo (ie, nearly 400km away) to burn them all off afterwards, but I reckon it'd be worth it. There are lots of similarly tempting things on Anita's blog, On To The Plate. Read it at your own peril.

The ever-glamorous Mairi at Toast belongs to a supper club and her Sweet NZ entry this month - Passionfruit Mousse - comes from one of her recent soirees. Darling, it's gorgeous.

Bridget of After Taste is a woman after my own heart - in her Sweet NZ post this month she declares you can never have too many lemons. Here's her latest lemony creation - Lemon Cornflake Slice.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas over at Pease Pudding, where Alli has been baking Spelt and Rye Spiced Biscuits. I could really go for one of these right now, couldn't you? And would you mind putting the kettle on too?

The last word goes to the unstoppable Alessandra Zecchini, founder of Sweet New Zealand, who has gone all-out this month with no less than FOUR entries from her blogs. Yes, that's blogs, plural.
Here's the Fig Cupcakes from her Only Recipes blog...

Next up, Marinated Strawberries with Greek Yoghurt and Dried Lychees from what I think of as her main blog, Alessandra Zecchini.

Then there are the Pineapple Agar Agar Jellies from her vegan blog...

She also got her talented daughter in on the act, with this video showing how to make sugar roses. Amazing!

That's all from Sweet New Zealand this month. Have a great weekend everyone x